Many articles, such as instruments and sports and outdoor equipment experience vibration during use. Instruments vibrate as a result of sound waves that are produced. Oftentimes it is desired to reduce or dampen the vibration or tones generated by an instrument, for example on drumheads. Sports and outdoor equipment also vibrate from use. One example of a vibration felt by a user of a sports implement, such as a metal baseball bat, is the “tink” that results from contact of the bat surface with a ball. Another example of vibration from outdoor equipment includes archery equipment. The audible noise created by the string and bow de-tensioning can be heard and recognized by deer and other game animals and felt by the user as the arrow leaves the bow.
Percussive instruments, such as drums, cymbals, cow bells, etc., are oftentimes dampened. Most of the prior art devices used to dampen percussive instruments feature contacting the drumhead with a substance that is capable of absorbing some of the higher overtones. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,819 discloses a gel patch or “patch type” percussive dampening material wherein the gel is a two-phase colloidal system consisting of a solid and liquid phase, containing in an exemplary embodiment, 3% soybean oil.
Commercially available “patch type” percussive dampening materials, when applied to the vibrating drumhead or percussive instrument, have numerous shortcomings. Among these shortcomings are the seepage of oil, sometimes with an unsightly stain, onto the surface of the drumhead by the material of the gel patch. Another shortcoming includes the inability to effectively “stick” to the drumhead. Yet another shortcoming is that prior art percussive instrument dampening materials have little or no positive adhesion and are limited to placement on the horizontal plane on the surface of the percussive instrument. Still another shortcoming is that prior art percussive instrument dampening materials are incapable of remaining on a vertical plane or reverse horizontal plane without mechanical means. Another shortcoming is these dampening materials lack the ability to remain on violently vibrating surfaces, such as crash cymbals, for any practical period of time. Yet another shortcoming is that most prior art percussive dampening materials begin to flap, buzz and release almost instantly from even horizontal surfaces and exhibit unsophisticated sound control characteristics. Another shortcoming disclosed in some of the prior art patch dampening devices is their relative ineffectiveness at dampening certain overtones. Some patch materials may “dry out” over a period of time, thus lessening their dampening ability.
As already noted, problems of undesired vibration are not unique to percussive instruments. Other areas include sports and outdoor equipment. Prior art sporting equipment vibration control devices (e.g., for archery bows, aluminum baseball bats, golf clubs and tennis racquets) are either nonexistent or are bulky unsophisticated contraptions without the ability to be moved readily and maintain position and vibration control under extreme forces. Prior art sporting equipment vibration control devices generally lack the ability to be placed and replaced many times for user customization without losing adhesion or vibration control characteristics in whole or in part.
These and other drawbacks are found in current dampening devices.